ALLERGEN WARNING AND FROZEN FOOD SAFETY
Our food is prepared in a facility with nuts, dairy, eggs, soy, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, wheat and most other food ingredients. We use standard measures to ensure no cross contamination, but trace amounts of allergens may be present in all of our food.
Freezing food is like hitting nature’s pause button. Freezing does not kill most bacteria. While we follow the high standards of food safety to ensure limit bacteria in our processes, commonly present forms of bacteria may persist. Harmful bacteria tends to grow between 41-135 degrees Fahrenheit (the danger zone). Fish and other seafood commonly contain bacteria that will grow at 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Food kept frozen will remain safe to eat for years, but it may experience some loss of quality depending on how it is packaged and how cold it is stored. As a general rule, food processors, restaurants, catering companies, etc. are required to discard food that sits in the danger zone for more than 4 hours. In addition, some food stored in hermetically sealed containers that lack oxygen (such as the bags we use) can pose additional serious risks if left in the danger zone for even less time.
We carefully take into account these food safety concerns and incorporate them into our thawing instructions, which can vary by item. We include specific instructions on all packages and menu item descriptions.
As general rules:
Never leave frozen food to thaw at room temperature for more than 15 minutes and only if you open the individual item package first and will cook it immediately after.
When in doubt, open sealed packages before thawing in the refrigerator to allow oxygen in and prevent any potential build-up of harmful toxins that might occur if the food stays above 41 (37 for seafood) degrees Fahrenheit. Sealed raw meats (but not seafood) and sauces that contain substantial acid content (vinaigrette, etc.) can be thawed in the refrigerator without opening first.
The best and safest way to thaw most items is in a bowl of cold water just before cooking and either open prior to (if thawing will take more than 20 minutes) or immediately after thawing.
Above all, follow the thawing instructions on the packages, which are designed for the quickest, safest thawing for each item.